


Jealousy and Other Motives

by KaRaEa



Series: A Conflict of Interest [6]
Category: DCU (Comics)
Genre: A lot of kissing, AU, Kissing, M/M, Misunderstandings, Robincest, handjobs, seriously so much kissing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-14
Updated: 2016-04-14
Packaged: 2018-06-02 04:01:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,677
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6549880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaRaEa/pseuds/KaRaEa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim is working stupidly late for one of Jason's cases and Dick has sent Damian to drop off some vital evidence while he plays chase with Jason. Damian is not impressed. He has much better things to do with his time than sit around in a lab with Drake. But if Grayson is going to dispose of him so that he can continue his secret relationship, then Damian will just have to make the best of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Jealousy and Other Motives

**Author's Note:**

> Mostly Damian/Tim. Other pairings are only mentioned in this fic. This series is still going to be Robinpile eventually.
> 
> (Melissa, Amy, if you're reading this I have no excuses.)

Tim scratched his head and stared at his cold coffee for a moment. It wasn’t appealing. He’d drunk so much of the stuff he was getting heartburn and his concentration was slipping.

But he needed this done. Jason was relying on him. If this didn’t get done in under 24 – no, 14 now - hours then the suspect would be free to go and there’d be little chance of arresting him again before he fled the state.

Thing was, there was so much evidence and no way of telling which bit would give them enough to hold the suspect until all of it had been processed. Tim counted himself lucky that the local vigilante group was working it with them, even if Jason didn’t know it. There’d probably be at least one witness handily turning up at the station before the night was over.

After staring for a full minute at his computer screen without taking anything in, Tim gave a sigh and called it a lost cause for now. He set his phone alarm and headed over to the nearest couch for a power nap. Thirty minutes and he’d be recharged enough to go over the prints he’d collected from the suspected murder weapon. Just thirty minutes.

 

…

 

Damian fought back the sharp words that threatened to launch themselves at Grayson. “Why can’t you do it?” He asked instead.

Grayson rolled his eyes. “Because if I go in or out of costume, I’ll attract attention. You’re in the limelight less, you can sneak in, in plain clothes. All you’re doing is dropping off the murder weapon with Tim.”

More than likely, Grayson was out to find his police detective lover for another alleyway rendezvous. Damian huffed but took the baggied brick and set off for the station.

Drake wasn’t at his desk when Damian entered, a fact that made an already frustrated Damian infuriated.

He found Drake curled up on a battered couch in another room and loudly dropped the brick on a table.

Drake flinched upright, arms flailing, and Damian despaired of the training he and Grayson had attempted to give him. Clearly it wasn’t taking.

“Oh, Damian. What are you…” Drake trailed off as he registered the brick. “Shit, is that what I think it is?”

Damian rolled his eyes and nodded.

“We thought we had the murder weapon, I’ve been running prints for hours,” Drake complained.

“Yes, well. Maybe your investigations would run smoother if you didn’t make unfounded assumptions.”

Drake shook his head. “Sometimes I forget what an asshole you are. Then you go and open your mouth.”

Bristling, Damian turned to leave.

“Where did you find it?”

“Two blocks from the crime scene.”

Drake made an impatient noise. “In what direction?”

“Towards the library on Dooley Avenue,” Damian answered with a sigh. He really didn’t want to spend his night answering inane questions. What did it matter where Damian found it? He wasn’t a law enforcement officer or even a civilian turning in evidence. There was nothing Drake could do with any information Damian gave him.

“Oh, Jay is gonna be pissed,” Drake muttered to himself, picking up the brick and examining the bloodied edge.

“Why?”

Drake looked up as though Damian was an inconvenient distraction. “I don’t think we’ve got the right guy.”

“Gotham City’s finest do it again,” Damian grumbled.

“Hey! Everything pointed to this guy, and I can guarantee he’s guilty of something. Just not this unfortunately.” Drake headed back towards the crime lab. “You busy?”

Damian looked longingly towards the night sky through the windows. “I am always busy.”

Drake rolled his eyes. “I could do with a hand processing all this before tomorrow. I need to at least have a lead to follow when I break the news to Detective Todd.”

“I would have thought that was illegal,” Damian pointed out. He didn’t like the idea of doing anything to placate Todd. Particularly considering what Grayson was probably doing to placate him right at that very moment. He wondered briefly whether Drake knew about Todd and Grayson’s relationship. Probably not if he was still this eager to please.

“So’s vigilantism,” Drake replied. “Hold the lamp steady while I get a closer look at this, I think something’s caught in the clay.”

Damian did as he was asked, only because he knew Grayson would be disappointed if he left Drake to manage by himself.

His skin prickled at the thought that he was every bit as pathetic as Drake.

 

…

 

Tim gritted his teeth against the haughty glare Dick’s sidekick was giving him. He needed to focus.

“What is taking so long?”

Tim counted to ten in his head. “I’m trying to gather every last piece of information I can get off this. Skin, blood, hair, clothing fibres. Pretty much anything could be on here and any bit of it could help us figure out who did this. I need to be thorough.”

“No wonder Grayson and I are so busy every night. This process is ridiculous,” Damian sniffed.

“Do you ever shut up? I’m sure you were quieter when I met you,” Tim muttered.

“I believe that was more the case of you being too distracted ogling my partner to notice anything I said,” Damian replied. And dammit, he was probably right. Ah, the good old days.

Tim flickered a quick glance over Damian. If only the kid wasn’t so damned perceptive, Tim could probably lessen his own annoyance by ogling him in the absence of Dick.

Damian pulled himself up with an indignant expression. “Did you just…”

“Nope. Hold open the bag,” Tim answered, holding up a small knot of fabric with his tweezers and dropping it in the evidence bag Damian held out.

Damian was silent for a solid five minutes while Tim finished poring over the brick, all the way up to when Tim stepped away to the microscope, evidence bags in hand. “Are you aware of the clandestine relationship your Detective Todd and Grayson are engaging in?”

Tim stumbled, barely catching himself before he could tumble to the floor. “What?” He avoided Damian’s eyes, hoping against hope that he wasn’t blushing or doing anything else to give away just how _well_ he knew that fact.

Damian’s eyes narrowed. He didn’t ask again, though he was clearly waiting for an answer.

“How did you come to that conclusion?” Tim asked after a moment of uncomfortable shifting.

“When I was covering for Grayson when he was out of town, Todd kissed me believing me to be Grayson,” Damian said, far too casually.

Tim took a moment to absorb the information and reorder certain knowledge in his head. He wondered how Damian could be so calm when describing… Well, if it was the occasion Tim was imagining it was then it was a lot more than Jason kissing him. He fought past the sudden jealousy clawing at his throat at the thought that everyone got a piece of Jason and Dick apart from him. “That’s… I mean, how do you know it’s an actual relationship?”

Damian held out his phone wordlessly.

_Hey, little D,_

_I’ll b home late. Ran in2 Det. Todd, can’t shake him._

_D._

 

Tim stared mournfully at the screen. “Maybe he’s telling the truth.”

Damian raised an eyebrow. “Do you know how long it has been since Grayson was unable to evade someone chasing him?”

“I’m guessing a while,” Tim replied with a sigh.

“Three years by my count,” Damian replied.

Tim shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. It’s none of our business.”

Damian looked down at his phone then back up at Tim. “I suppose you are right.”

 

…

 

Damian studied Drake’s profile as he squinted through the microscope at the various detritus he’d extracted from the brick. His hair was a mess and his shirt was rumpled, but the shadows under his eyes did little to lessen the look of intense focus on his face as he did his job.

“Pass me the next one,” Drake commanded.

Damian passed over the next piece of evidence. He couldn’t say he enjoyed taking orders from some lab technician, but the sooner this was done with, the better.

 After another few minutes Drake’s phone emitted a grating jumble of noise. Drake swore and fumbled in his pocket for a moment before pulling out the phone and dropping it as he tried to turn off what was presumably an alarm.

Damian bent to retrieve the phone before Drake got past uttering another curse, stepping in close in order to reach it and turning off the alarm as he stood.

Drake’s eyes widened and he stepped back from the proximity before taking the phone back. “Thanks.”

Damian tilted his head in consideration at the way Drake licked his lips. “You have feelings for Detective Todd, do you not?”

“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” Drake snapped.

“That would be a yes, then,” Damian mused. “I am not… That is to say, you are not the only one injured by their relationship.”

“You…” Drake trailed off. “Guess I should have seen that coming. Dick’s the only person you don’t treat like an idiot.”

Damian dipped his chin just once. “I knew he did not feel the same, he thinks of me as a brother. But I must admit, this dalliance with Todd… Hurts.”

Drake looked back towards the microscope but made no move to go back to work. “Yeah. I know what you mean.”

Another considering look at Drake, then: “I have heard rebound sex can help.”

 

…

 

Tim froze.

He could not have heard what he thought he just heard.

“If you are not opposed to the idea, we could…” Damian trailed off, looking embarrassed for the first time since Tim had met him.

“You want…” Tim’s throat dried up before he could finish the sentence. He swallowed and tried again. “You want to have rebound sex with me?”

Damian shrugged uncomfortably. “We are both in a similar predicament, and you aren’t unattractive. It seems like a reasonable solution.”

Tim stared for a while, trying to see if Damian was messing with him.

“You could just say no,” Damian snapped. He looked away and Tim could see the insecurity in his face. Damian wanted to feel attractive, wanted to feel like something other than someone’s baby brother.

“How about we start a little slower than that?” Tim suggested carefully.

“Slower?”

“Well, this is kind of spur of the moment, if we just go for it without thinking about it we could end up really regretting it,” Tim tried to explain.

“Forget it,” Damian snapped again, “It was just an idea. If you don’t want to you should say.”

Tim gritted his teeth. “That’s not… I’m not saying no.”

Damian looked back at him with poorly disguised surprise. It suited him, that look of bafflement. And, well, it wasn’t like Tim wasn’t attracted to him. And the idea had merit.

Tim took a deep breath. “If you’re sure you want to. I mean, you’re in love with Dick.”

Damian rolled his eyes. “I have had sex with other people before. You may not be… Him. But I would not suggest it were I not certain.”

“Okay.” Tim took another breath. “Okay. So, how did you want to do this?”

After a moment’s thought Damian’s eyes sparked viciously. “On Detective Todd’s desk.”

Tim nearly dropped his phone again.

 

…

 

Damian held back his amusement as Drake stood awkwardly by the desk, staring at a pile of paperwork that would have to be moved if they were truly going to do as they’d agreed.

“So…” Drake started before trailing off. He didn’t attempt to speak again.

“What sexual act do you wish to engage in?” Damian asked.

Drake’s mouth opened and closed a few times. “I should probably be asking you that.”

Typical. “I have no preferences on this occasion.”

Another silent period of staring at the desk.

Damian sighed. “Do you have the necessary items for intercourse?”

Drake shook his head.

“Have you recently been tested for sexually transmitted infections and diseases?”

Drake nodded.

It was like pulling teeth. “And the test results?”

“Oh, right. I’m clean. You?” Drake managed to nearly stutter out.

“I am also clean. Would you prefer oral or manual sex?” Damian asked.

“Um, we could start with hand jobs?” Drake suggested at last.

Damian gave an inward prayer of thanks to whatever deity may have assisted Drake in coming to a decision and nodded his agreement. “Very well. Shall we begin?”

Drake swallowed and blinked. “Okay.” His face shifted, becoming intense and focused the same way it was when he was working. He stepped closer until Damian’s eyes had to refocus, hands reaching for the hem of Damian’s hoody. Damian wished for a moment that he was wearing his normal clothes instead of the baggy, generic, unflattering thrift store finds he used to avoid recognition.

Drake peeled off his own outer layer afterwards and Damian took the moment to pull himself together while Drake’s scrutiny was elsewhere. He hadn’t lied, he had slept with other people before. Several in fact. Some of them male. None of them people he particularly liked or respected. Drake wasn’t his favourite person in the world, but he respected him. His intelligence, his drive.

He was also surprisingly toned under his loose shirt.

Damian took a breath and kissed Drake before any more undressing could occur. He needed to do something to break the tension he thought he might be the only one still feeling. He needed to take some control over himself. The kiss was a technical masterpiece. Damian hadn’t expected it, but he supposed he should have realised that Drake with his cutting intelligence would be every bit as tactical as Damian himself. It was a refreshing change and didn’t detract from the heat of the kiss. If anything, it made Damian more enthusiastic. Just the right amount of tongue, just the right angle and rhythm and pressure. Learning from Damian’s preferences instead of being driven by mindless lust.

It came as a shock to Damian that they were so compatible. Drake always stuck him as far more clumsy and lackadaisical than himself, yet Damian had never before encountered a lover that struck the same balance as himself between passion and method.

When his awkwardness had eased, he pulled back long enough to remove his shirt, Drake discarding his own simultaneously. The kiss resumed and Damian could feel the heat from Drake’s bare skin drawing him closer in. His own skin buzzed with being so close without touching, begging to close the gap, but Drake carefully maintained the teasing distance. A gentle pressure from Drake’s hand over his solar plexus sent Damian backwards until he was pressed against the desk. He hopped up smoothly and hooked his feet around Drake’s legs.

Drake paused with his hands over the fastenings to Damian’s pants. “Still good?”

Damian nodded. “Yes. Yourself?”

“Fantastic,” Drake grinned. Not the goofy grin he gave to Grayson when he was praised, a darker, more intimate expression.

Damian shivered.

Drake removed Damian’s shoes and pants in short order, removing his own immediately after as Damian watched closely. He didn’t put on a show, but Damian had to admit to finding the efficient movements arousing all the same.

Underwear was lowered but not removed as they came back into contact, both gasping a little before kissing again.

Drake’s fingers trailed loosely over Damian’s back, prompting another shiver and making him arch closer to Drake’s body. “Tell me what you like.”

Damian blinked a little. He’d been asked as he’d been in the act before, whether he liked what his partner was doing, what he wanted them to do next, but to be asked this early, as if Drake was formulating a plan on how best to make him come undone… Damian bit his lip. “I like…” He found it strangely difficult to detail his preferences while Drake was looking at him like that.

Drake seemed to sense his unease, bringing his lips to brush faintly against Damian’s shoulder, removing the heavy gaze that had made Damian tongue tied. “What?” He murmured against skin.

 

…

 

Tim could barely believe he was doing this. Found it even harder to believe Damian was this responsive to him. Grayson was always friendly, but Damian had always been cold and withdrawn, seeming to resent the time Tim took up out of their busy lives.

But here… Here the vigilante was intense and heated, eyes not leaving Tim once since they’d kissed. He couldn’t help but be a little awed by the change.

While Damian thought of what he wanted, Tim nuzzled slowly closer into his neck. He smelled like night air and expensive, musky soap. Tim wanted to wrap himself in that scent, replace the smell of sugar and cheap coffee he was sure clung to his own skin.

“I like direction,” Damian said at last. “Not domination, particularly. But I like to know what I am doing. And I like kissing.”

“Kissing?” Tim asked.

Damian seemed embarrassed for the first time since this whole things started. He’d seemed a little awkward earlier, but now he was blushing faintly, his skin warming and reddening under Tim’s mouth. “Yes. Kissing.”

Tim waited a moment for him to expand on this, but nothing more was forthcoming. “As in on the mouth or elsewhere?”

“Anywhere. Everywhere. I just… Enjoy kissing and being kissed,” Damian said.

“Okay,” Tim said, already thinking of how to use that. “Okay, I can definitely work with that.”

“What are your preferences?” Damian asked.

Tim shrugged. In all honesty, he was into people pleasing. He liked to do whatever his partner liked, but he wasn’t sure how to say it without Damian scoffing at him. He thought a moment more. Damian had shared, it wasn’t fair to withhold. “I like knowing if you like what I’m doing.”

Damian tilted his head in contemplation, giving more access in the process. “You enjoy verbal approval?”

Tim rolled his eyes. Trust Damian to make it sound pathetic. Jesus, it sounded like he was a dog, waiting for a ‘good boy’ after doing a trick. “Yeah. I guess.”

“You are an exceptionally skilled kisser,” Damian said. And surprisingly, it sounded sincere and not at all patronising.

Tim smiled and kissed Damian’s jaw. He pulled back a little and sucked his earlobe, kissing down his neck, hands finally settling more firmly against Damian’s back, pressing closer until their chests met.

Damian breathed in sharply, raising his hands to Tim’s hair and gripping rhythmically, massaging his scalp. He gently directed Tim’s mouth back to his own even as he reached down. Everything Damian did was gentle. Sometimes firm, sometimes passionate, sometimes thorough, but constantly gentle. Tim didn’t know what exactly he’d expected, but this wasn’t it.

“Mmm,” Tim hummed pleasantly. This was so much better than sitting hunched over his work all night wondering if Jason and Dick were having fun while he worked his ass off.

Damian kissed his face, once hand in Tim’s hair, the other brushing his inner thigh. “Is this still agreeable?”

“Yes. God, yes,” Tim replied. “You?”

Damian made a noise of agreement and kissed Tim’s cheekbone. “Very much so.”

Tim hid his face in Damian’s neck again to stifle his moan as Damian’s fingers wrapped around him. For a guy that spent his free time scaling walls, punching people and handling weapons, his hand were very soft. Not as soft as they would be without those things, but still not as rough as expected. Nothing about Damian as a lover was expected.

“I like the sounds you make,” Damian commented.

Tim laughed a little at that. Damian trying so blatantly to do what Tim said he enjoyed. He still couldn’t supress the warmth of pride in his gut. He kissed Damian’s shoulder and neck, his jaw and the top of his chest where Tim could reach without interrupting Damian’s hand on him. He reached down to return the favour, still kissing Damian’s throat.

Damian was quiet, his gasps only audible up close. And it was so hot, so intimate. And Tim liked noise and would have liked Damian’s moans just as much, but something about the way he could only hear him because he was so close made him feel almost painfully protective. The next time Damian gasped, Tim kissed his mouth to feel it on his tongue.

It was fascinating, studying Damian’s reactions. His usually closed expressions morphed until Tim could see everything in the curve of his lips, hear everything in one exhale.

“Tell me what you want.”

Damian shuddered. “You are already doing it.”

Tim didn’t quite know what to do with that, so he kissed him again to avoid having to say anything else for the time being. Eventually he kissed Damian’s forehead and pulled back a little. “Open your hand.”

Damian did as he was asked immediately and Tim pressed closer, linking their fingers around both their cocks.

They set a pace and punctuated it with scattered kisses and grasping hands, Tim’s free hand clutching Damian’s back, his neck, his ass, his shoulder. Damian’s free hand seemed anchored in Tim’s hair, only moving to cup his face and neck before moving back again.

“You sure like my hair,” Tim teased.

“It’s soft,” Damian said, not moving his hand.

Tim grinned. “The rest of me is soft too. Well apart from…” He looked down.

Damian rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

Even that seemed gentler than usual.

Tim laughed, still chuckling around Damian’s tongue and lips.

He was still laughing, Damian smiling slightly and trying to look put upon, when a throat cleared behind them.

“What the hell?! That’s my desk!” Jason said, more bewildered than offended.

Dick cracked up behind him, doubling over around his cuffed hands.

Tim and Damian froze and met each other’s eyes. Tim noticed that Damian was significantly less embarrassed than him, one eyebrow raised in a distinctly unimpressed fashion.

Damian looked Jason up and down dismissively. “If you don’t mind, we are not yet finished.”


End file.
